I’ve always wanted to have a go at a boodle fight, it looks like fun don’t you agree? And this summer is just the perfect opportunity to get down & dirty. 😉 Of course I would’ve preferred to have the kids’ friends over for the experience, after all, the more the many-er merrier diba? But first, a trial! Baka mapahiya ako sa mga bisita ko, masira lang ang respeto nila sa akin hahaha!

Boodle fight, if you don’t know it yet, is a military style of eating where long tables are prepared and food are placed en masse on top of the banana leaves. Viands and rice are ready to be eaten using bare hands, and jugs of water are prepared on the side to wash hands before the “eating combat”. With the signal to start the boodle fight, everyone tackles the feast.

I really do my best to make the kids life interesting on the weekends. They slave during the weekdays -with very little sleep, long commute & rush-rush eating, that I just want to make it up to them come weekend. I want them to look forward to chill & pampered days at home with Mommy, so I figured it was high time for a surprise – a boodle fight no less! 😉

Since there were gonna be only 10 of us eating, I stopped myself from going overboard & just bought enough variety (and quantity!) to make our boodle lunch colorful & wide-ranged..

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The girls are more of seafood eaters so I got prawns, pusit lumot (squid moss) & tuna panga. Then added chicken & pork liempo for us carnivores, and some eggplants & okra, tomatoes & onion, itlog na maalat & spicy alamang to complete our boodle menu.

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Good thing our kasambahay had a green thumb & planted a variety of goodies on a vacant lot across our home before he left, so we had some giant banana leaves to use. Make sure you wash them thoroughly & pat dry first before using. A reader suggested I iron it first under a towel to keep it flat. I’ll do that next time. Thank you Albert for this wise advise. :-*

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Ironing would definitely have kept these under wraps. 😉 #pun Say hello to my beautiful fly swatter, lol.

Meanwhile, my macho hubby did his best to cool us off with a portable aircon he proudly bought at a DISCOUNTED price in HMR -a surplus store, lol! I swear, he brings it out as often as he can para masulit naman daw ang bayad. This Kap of mine talaga. ;)) In fair, nakatuong naman ng konti.

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When having boodle fights, make sure you serve food that’s easy to eat with your hands, so no soup on the menu unless you serve it in small bowls which they can slurp. Also, as much as possible, do it outdoors so you’re not worrying about making a mess in your dining room. Believe me, you WILL make a big mess after. 😛 So very thankful for our 3 angels who keep our home spic & span. <3

Best cuisine for this is, of course, Filipino food. More of ihaw-ihaw items that you can grill simultaneously & save time cooking. Remember, you will have 4-5 different food items so grilling them together is the most efficient way. Fried food also works if you don’t have an outdoor griller. But you can also do Mexican, Indian, or whatever catches your fancy. Your boodle, your fight, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 😉

Be as inventive with the menu as you want. Piniritong bangus, galunggong, pla-pla, hito, hotdog, lumpiang shanghai, pork bbq, talangka, crabs atbp. Just make sure you have the necessary sawsawan along with bagoong (a must, yum!). I had some red & juicy watermelon slices prepared but we forgot to include it in our excitement, too bad as those would have been wonderful, colorful addition to my spread. Oh and buko juice would be the perfect drink, and assorted kakanin the ultimate sweet ending for the ultimate Filipino feel. Now I’m really drooling & thinking of our next fiesta. 😛

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Sit-down boodle fight. A more comfy way, I must say! ;))

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For our dessert, I went the extra mile & bought an electric ice shaver a day before from the grocery. Best 3k I’ve spent seeing we will definitely put this to good use to beat the summer heat.

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The more sangkap, the merrier! The girls are forever on a diet so we didn’t buy evaporated milk anymore and decided that Ice Cream would do the trick. Hay, LITE ice cream pa! @_@

Don’t mind him, he’s on an “annoying” phase. Whenever I ask him to smile or pose for me, he tests my patience & makes a grimace instead, hay, sayang that pogi face! @_@ The girls are more cooperative in giving me the winning smile, lol.

Cheers to summer! \m/

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Another thing I purchased especially for summer are these inflatable banana loungers for when the kids have friends over & they wanna lounge by the pool. Only 250 php in Lazada, great price, although I doubt these will last beyond summertime hehe. I suggest you invest in the original versions. Pricier, but probably more durable. I didn’t wanna spend so much on something that might not work so I tested out the cheaper version first. Whad’ya say? It works! So next time I’ll buy the original ones na. CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW TO PROPERLY INFLATE. Although I gotta warn ya, it’s not as easy as it looks. Eto, panoorin nyo sila hehe..

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Lemme tell you a secret. You. Need. Wind. Lots & lots of it. Otherwise you’ll get winded. Yes, pun intended. ;))

After 987654321 years, finally! ;))

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The other night (this entry is post-dated), ang lakas ng bagyo. Out of the blue the rain & winds came gushing in. As in the trees were dancing & some were even uprooted! Does this mean the end of summer?

Oh noes, paano na ang halo-halo churva at summer pakulo ko, lol! Mwah! :-*